Written by:
SPEED Staff
SPEEDtv.com
Using the right tactics and well-timed pit stops helped Briton Gary Paffett claim victory for Mercedes-Benz at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz circuit today, round two of the 2009 DTM championship.
Gary Paffett earned his first win of 2009 at EuroSpeedway Lausitz today. (LAT)
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The 28-year old planned his two mandatory pit stops late in laps 24 and 34 and was thus able to extend his lead in first place lap after lap. Second-place went to his team-mate Bruno Spengler from Canada, who also went past Swedish Audi driver Mattias Ekström thanks to late stops. The champion of 2004 and 2007, who had started from pole position, came third in the second DTM race of the year.
“I don’t know what was wrong at Hockenheim, but today, everything was just perfect. Especially the strategy that my team worked out was the key to success. This is going to be a great season. I am already looking forward to Norisring in four weeks’ time”, said Paffett after his eleventh victory in the DTM. For his employer Mercedes-Benz, it was already the 148th race win in the most popular international touring car series.
Ekström, who already made his first stop on lap 13 and his second one on lap 22, said about his third place: “I drove a race without any mistakes and still, I wasn’t as fast as the two Mercedes. Of course, when you start from pole, the goal is to win, but we will be faster next time round.”
Last year’s runner-up Paul Di Resta (GB/Mercedes-Benz) finished in fourth place ahead of reigning champion Timo Scheider (Audi). Mercedes-Benz driver Jamie Green from Great Britain ended up sixth as the best-placed driver of a 2008-spec car.
With a great recovery in his AMG-Mercedes C-Class, Ralf Schumacher thrilled the fans in the Lower Lausitz. Having started last, the German made it all the way up into tenth place.
The winner of the season opener at Hockenheim, Tom Kristensen (DK) had a rather disappointing weekend. Initially, the Audi driver failed to make it into the second heat of qualifying on Saturday. On Sunday, the 41-year old was involved in many duels and incurred one drive-through penalty and a pit stop time penalty for his maneuvers. This left Kristensen without a chance of challenging for a top position. After 180.856 kilometres, he finished twelfth.
In the overall standings, champion Scheider is leading with twelve points from Kristensen and Paffett, who have ten points each. The third DTM race weekend of the year will be taking place at the Norisring in Nuremberg from June 26th till 28th.
DTM EuroSpeedway Lausitz
EuroSpeedway Lausitz, May 31st 2009 DTM
Result race
1 Gary Paffett (GBR) 09 Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Klasse
2 Bruno Spengler (CAN) 09 Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Klasse
3 Mattias Ekström (SWE) 09 AUDI A4 DTM
4 Paul Di Resta (GBR) 09 AMG Mercedes C-Klasse
5 Timo Scheider (GER) 09 AUDI A4 DTM
6 Jamie Green (GBR) 08 Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Klasse
7 Mike Rockenfeller (GER) 08 AUDI A4 DTM
8 Maro Engel (GER) 08 GQ AMG Mercedes C-Klasse
9 Mathias Lauda (AUT) 08 stern AMG Mercedes C-Klasse
10 Ralf Schumacher (GER) 09 Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Klasse
11 Susie Stoddart (GBR) 08 TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Klasse
12 Tom Kristensen (DEN) 09 AUDI A4 DTM
13 Tomas Kostka (CZE) 07 AUDI A4 DTM
14 Christian Bakkerud (DEN) 07 AUDI A4 DTM
NOT CLASSIFIED
15 Alexandre Prémat (FRA) 08AUDI A4 DTM
16 Oliver Jarvis (GBR) 08AUDI A4 DTM
17 Martin Tomczyk (GER) 09AUDI A4 DTM
18 Markus Winkelhock (GER) 08AUDI A4 DTM
19 Katherine Legge (GBR) 08AUDI A4 DTM
Fastest lap: 7 Green Jamie 1:19.040 = 158.411 km/h at lap 37
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